Adames scheduled to return Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS – If all goes according to plan, the Milwaukee Brewers could have their spark plug back in the lineup on Saturday.
Willy Adames, who has missed three consecutive games with sore left quadriceps, made some significant strides before the opener of the team’s interleague series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
“We had him run out there and that went well, so he’s going to hit today and we’re going to do the same thing tomorrow. If that all goes well, he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow,” manager Craig Counsell said Friday. “It’s good signs so far. We wanted to do a little bit of progression to make sure he didn’t re-create anything.
“He didn’t re-create anything running early here so he’ll hit, we’ll give him the rest of the day to recover and hopefully tomorrow goes well as well.”
The one caveat to Adames’ return is he’d start Saturday as the designated hitter, with a return to his normal spot at shortstop for the series finale.
“It just lessens the work that we have ask him to do and lessens the exposure for another day,” Counsell said.
“So, that’s a good thing.”
Adames was removed from Tuesday’s victory against the Cincinnati Reds after doubling and scoring a run in the first inning, and the Brewers have been conservative with him since in an attempt to get him back to as close to fully healthy as possible.
“I’m feeling better today,” Adames said. “It’s been bothering me for, I’d say, the last three weeks. I’ve been playing with it and dealing with it, and I think they just want to get rid of it.
“Me too, because I want to play at 100%.”
Adames has been an iron man since joining the Brewers in late May, starting 79 of 84 games and playing in 81 overall.
“We deal with it,” said Adames, who’s hitting .295 with 17 home runs and 50 runs batted in while helping Milwaukee to a 57-27 record.
“We’re warriors, so we play with it. I just want to be back to 100% and do my best on the field. I hope that it goes away and I can go back to 100%. But if it doesn’t, we play with it, we deal with it and I’ll do my best.”
Another key player, infielder Eduardo Escobar, is eligible to come off the injured list Thursday, when the Brewers wrap up their road trip with a fourth and final game at San Francisco against the Giants.
Counsell said he, too, is making good progress. His return will be big for the Brewers because of his ability to switch hit, giving the lineup more balance when he’s batting from the right side.
“He didn’t run, but he played catch and hit, so he’s back on the field,” Counsell said. “I always tell you guys, when you see a guy back on the field that’s a good sign. He’s doing really well.
“The trainers are very happy with how he’s doing.”
In other injury news, right-hander Freddy Peralta continues to progress in the midst of his IL stint for shoulder inflammation.
“Freddy threw a bullpen today and that went very well, too,” Counsell said. “Freddy’s on track to be back in the rotation at the end of this road trip, on the start of the homestand. He’ll throw one more time in the bullpen.”
And finally, left-hander Brett Anderson seems to be no worse for wear after leaving Wednesday’s start with discomfort in his right hip.
“It’s similar to the time before when he came out (with calf cramping on Aug. 8; he made his next start),” said Counsell. “No real reason for concern today on the symptoms. They should be behind him and we can move forward.”
Offense gets a boost with the DH
It’s been a while since the Brewers have been able to utilize a DH, since May 18-19 at Kansas City, to be exact. Christian Yelich received both starts.
Aside from the obvious benefit of not having his pitchers hit, Counsell tries to take advantage of the DH role in interleague road games by spreading the starts each series among his regular position players.
It’s a way of getting them off their feet for a day while still keeping their bats in the lineup.
Yelich received the nod Friday and Adames is penciled in for Saturday with the Twins starting consecutive left-handers.
Counsell was asked if there was any consideration given to reinstating Daniel Vogelbach from the IL to serve as DH in the series. He’s been out since June 23 with hamstring and foot injuries and is in the midst of a rehab assignment at Class AAA Nasvhille.
Vogelbach is hitting .349/3/8 with an OPS of 1.067 in 16 games with the Sounds.
As it stands, he’ll be able to be recalled Wednesday when rosters expand to 28 players.
“I think Daniel’s really close,” Counsell said. “I think, frankly, roster construction with Willy’s injury has made it challenging. We need a versatile player with Willy being out (Pablo Reyes).”
Pitchers receive high praise
Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto raised some eyebrows with what he told the MLB Network about Milwaukee’s pitching staff.
“I’m going to say it out loud: Personally, I think this is the best group of pitchers I’ve faced in my career,” he said. “I was a part of the team that faced the 2010 Phillies with the late Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. On the whole, the entire collection of (Brewers) pitchers, this has been the toughest matchup I’ve ever come across in my career.
“Their bullpen is outstanding. Their starting pitching is dominant. This is a fantastic team.”
While Votto has routinely wrecked Brewers pitching over the course of his Hall of Fame-caliber career (he debuted in 2007), Milwaukee limited him to a .167/2/7 line with an OPS of only .620 and 22 strikeouts in 16 games this season.
“That’s a ton of praise, for sure,” Counsell said. “I think you let it sit. It’s a nice thing to say. We try to make every at-bat tough. That means Nos. 1 through 13 or 14 pitchers, depending on the time of the year, you try to do that and I think we’re at the point now where we can do that.
“That’s how you come back in games. We’ve had a lot of those games and that’s how you do it. No matter who you have in there, you have a good chance to put zeroes up.”